Control system



p 3 s. A. MOREHOUSE 2,173,913

CONTROL SYSTEM I Original Filed July 22, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

v w m ATTORNEYS Sept. 26, 1939.-

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 s. A. MOREHOUSE CONTROL SYSTEM III! b'b. I

Drigipal Filed July 22, 1935 llilllili'il 'I'IIIIIIII v INVENTOR.

I ATTORNEYS Sept; 26, 1939. s. A. MOREHOUSE CONTROL SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed July 22, 1935 Q Q a kwww I i .rLimm I INVENTOR- ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,173,913 (DNTBOL srsrnm Silas A; Morehouse, Glendale, CaliL, assignor,

mesne assignments, to United Aircraft Co ration, East Delaware Original application July 22,

Hartford, Court, a corporation 01' 1935, Serial No.

32,575. Divided and this application January 18,1937, Serial No. 121,091 7 Claims. (01. nil-135.5)

This invention relates broadly to control systems for automatically maintaining two or more rotating devices at predetermined relative speeds and is particularly applicable to the control of 6 engines in multi-engine airplanes, motor boats,

and the like where the different engines are not connected to a common shaft but nevertheless should run at the same speed.

This application is a division of my application.

lo Serial No. 32,575 filed July 22, 1935.

An object of the invention is to provide a practicable mechanism for maintaining a plurality of engines in a predetermined desired speed relation.

A more specific object is to provide a mechanism for maintaining exact synchronism between the various motors of a multi-motor airplane equipped with variable pitch propellers for maintaining exact synchronism in the speeds of the various motors without changing the normal control of the motors or necessitating any attention on the part of the operator.

Various more specific objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description which refers to the drawings.

The system of the presentinvention has been specifically designed for airplanes and for that reason the invention will be explained by de- 3 scribing the specific application thereof to an airplane.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the application of the invention to the two engines of a bi-motor airplane equipped with variable pitch propellers. V

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a preferred form of synchronizing unit in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are side and end views, re

spectively, of the device shown in Fig. 2.

Fig.6 is a cross section through the mechanism shown in Fig. 2, the section being taken in the plane V-V of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a cross section through the device shown in Fig. 2, the section being taken in the plane VI-VI of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 6 in the plane VIIVII of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of a safety link adapted to be inserted in the linkage employed with my unit.

oi Fi 4.

In Fig. 1, two engines A and B, respectively, are

Fig. 9 is a detailed section in the plane IX--IX directly connected to variable pitch propellers Idlla. and IOIlb, respectively. Each engine is provldedv with a driving connection to its associated propeller and a mechanism for shifting the pitch of the propeller. This mechanism will be described in detail with reference to the sectional view of the mechanism on motor A. Thus the motor is provided with a shaft IIII, to which is keyed a propeller hub I02, the hub having a bore I03 extending diametrically therethrough and a longitudinal bore I04 into which the end of the engine shaft IIlI projects. Each propeller blade I05 and I06, respectively, is provided with acy- 'lindrical stub I01 and I08, respectively, which are rotatably mounted in the bore I03 with their inner ends juxtaposed to each other. Radial movement of the propeller blades Ill5 'and I06 is prevented by rings IIIland III, respectively, on the stubs of the blades. The forward end of the shaft MI is bored to define a cylinder H2 in which a piston H3 is fitted. This piston H3 is provided with a wrist pin H4 upon which are mounted two connecting rods H5 and H6, respectively, the outer ends of which are pivotally mounted on pins Iil'and II8, respectively,which are eccentrically mounted on the inner ends of the propeller stubs it! and I08, respectively. The pins II! and H8 are so disposed on their respective hubs that forward movement of the piston II3 twists .the propeller blades in opposite directions to simultaneously increase their pitch. When the propeller is rotating, the reaction of the air thereon tends to reduce the pitch of the blades and force the piston I I3 rearwardly. This force is opposed by oil under pressure which is supplied to the inner end of the cylinder H2 through passages I2I in theengine shaft "II, which communicate with a passage I22 in a collar surrounding the shaft. The passage I22 40 in turn" connects with an oil line I23 extending to and connecting with two oil lines I24 and I25. Pipe I 2! extends directly to the output connection of a pump I28 and pipe I25 connects through a valve 121 with a pipe I28 which connects to the inlet connection of pump I 26. The pump I26, which may be driven from the engine or from any other suitable source of power, circulates oil continuously around through pipes I24 and I25, the valve I21 and pipe I28 and the pressure of the oil at the juncture between pipes I24 and I25 is transmitted through pipe I23 to the piston II 3. Instead of employing the particular pump and pipe connections and valve justdescribed, and diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1, u

other arrangements known in the prior art may be employed.

The valve I21 comprises a piston I29 attached to a control shaft or rod I30 and forms a part of a governor I3Ia. Thus the governor comprises apair of weights I32 mounted upon resilient arms I33 which are secured at their upper and lower ends to collars I34 and I35, respectively. The

collar I35 is rotatably mounted upon the upper v end of the rod I30 and is provided with a groove fitting over a flange on rod I30 so that vertical movement of the collar I35 is transmitted to the;

rod I30 to open or close the valve I23. The up-'.

per collar I34 is mounted upon a square por tion I35 of a rotatable shaft I31, the lower end of which is journaled in the counter-bored end of the rod I30 and the upper end of which is rotatably mounted in a stationary bearing I39.

The shaft I31 is rotated from the engine A through bevel gears I40 and I41 secured to the upper end of shaft I31 and the rear end of the engine shaft IOI, respectively. The collar I34-is slidable vertically along the square portion I33 of shaft I31 and is supported in position by a yoke I42 on the end of'a lever I43, which lever is shifted up and down to vary the setting of the governor.

In operation as the engine is accelerated, the governor weights I32 fly out, thereby lifting the collar I35 and the valve I29 to interrupt or reduce the flow of fluid through pipe I25. This in- ,creases the pressure of the fluid, which pressure is applied to the inner end of the piston I I2, forcing the latter out to increase the pitch of the propeller. The increase in pitch of the propel-' .there must be some slight increase in speed as the throttle is opened as some movement of the governor is necessary to operate thevalve I29.

The mechanism for varying the pitch of thepropeller I00b and thereby governing the speed of the engine B is substantially the same as that described in connection with engine A and propeller I00a. However, it is practically impossible to so design the two'units as to cause them to automatically maintain exactly the same speed despite differences in the throttle settings of the two engines. It will be observed that throttle valves Ia and I50b on the two engines A and B are manually controlled by throttles I5Ia and I5Ib which are connected to, their associated valves by cables I 52a and I52b, respectively.

Heretoforeit has been necessary to synchronize the two engines by manually varying the settings of the governors. Thus the lever I43 associated with the governor I3") is shown connected by a control cable I555 directly to a governor control lever Ib. In accordance with prior practice the lever I43 associated with governor I3Ia would also be similarly'directly connected to a control lever I55a. However, in accordance with the present invention, I automatically vary the setting of-thegovernpr I3Ia to bring the two engines into synchronism, by inserting a governing device 20 in the connection between the lever I43 on governor I3Ia and the control lever I53a.

This control device 20 is connected by tachometer shafts I50 and iii 'to engines A and B respectively, and is provided with a bell crank lever I1, one arm of which is connected to the rod or cable I35 extending to the lever I43, and the other arm of which is connected to the cable I55a extending to the control lever I55a.

To automatically change the setting of the governor I3Ia, the fulcrum of bell crank lever 11 is shifted by the device 20 in response to a difference in speeds of the two tachometer shafts I30 and IBI, the fulcrum of the bell crank lever I1 being shifted upwardly or downwardly to thereby shift the cable or r'od I and the lever I43 without shifting the associated control member I53a.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to '7, inclusive. the unit 20 comprises a casing .25 having rotatably mounted therewithin a shaft 25. Thus as shown, shaft 23 is mounted in bearing bushings 21 in opposite walls of the casing. The shaft 26 has keyed thereto a gear 23 and a differential hub 29. The gear 23 is provided with a hub '30 having a set screw 3I therein for locking it to shaft-23. The differential hub 29 likewise has a set screw 32 .therein for locking it to shaft 25 after the parts have ,been assembled together.

Rotatably mounted upon shaft 23 on opposite sides of the hub 29 are a pair of worm. wheels 33 and 34, respectively, each of which has secured thereto a bevel gear 35 and 33, respectively, which bevel gears mesh with bevel gears 31 and 33, respectively, mounted for rotation about their axes on the hub 29 by screws 39, the gears 35, 35, 31 and 33 constituting a differential mechanism of well known type. The worm wheel 33 meshes with a worm 40 mounted on a shaft H which is rotatably supported at opposite ends in bushings 42 in the casing 25.

One end of shaft 4I projects through its associated bushing 42 and is provided with a squared end 43 adapted to engage a square socket 44 on the end of the tachometer shaft I3I shown in Fig. l. A conventional connection 43 may be employed to secure the housing of the tachometer shaft to the casing 25.

The worm wheel 34 engages a worm 40' mounted on a shaft 4I, mounted in bushings 42 in the housing 25. This shaft 4I is also provided with a squared end which projects, however, from the opposite end of the housing 25 to that from which the shaft 4I projects, this arrangement being clearly shown in Fig. 2. The purpose of brin ing the shafts H and M, respectively, out of the casing 25 on the opposite ends thereof is to cause the worm wheels 33 and 34 to be driven in opposite directions when their associated shafts 4I and H are connected to tachometer shafts rotating in the same direction. It will be obvious that if the worm wheels 33 and 34 are rotated in opposite directions at equal speeds, the differential gears 31 and 33 will simply rotate about their pivot screws 39 and no rotation of hub 29 and shaft 23 will occur. However, should the wheels 33 and 34 be rotating in opposite directions at different speeds, then a differential motion will be transmitted to the shaft 25, which differentialm'otion is used in 'a-manner to be described to control the speeds of the engines.

The gear 23 meshes with a gear 50 locked to shaft 5I which is rotatably mounted in bushings 52 in the housing 25. locked thereto for rotation therewith a bevel gear 54 which meshes with a bevel gear 55 locked to a shaft 53 which is rotatably mounted and projects through a bushing 51 anchored in the wall of the casing 25, the shaft 53 having on its outer end an eccentric stub shaft 53 which constitutes the pivotal mounting for the bell crank lever I1.

The shaft 5I also has- 50, the latter rotating which in turn rotates gear and shaft 80 to The operation of the mechaniamjlto-correct a discrepancy in speed between the two motors.- thetachometer shafts of which areconnected to that mechanism, will now be apparent. Thusany difference in the speeds of the two tachometer shafts I and ltl will cause the worm gears 33 and It to travel in opposite directions at diflerent speeds which will result in a slow rotation of the diiierential hub 28 and shaft. 28. This in. turn-ro'- tates the gear 28 which rotates the gear'segment the shaft II and gear It,

raise or lower the eccentric stub shaft ll, thereby raising or lowering as a whole the bellcrankiever I! mounted on unit 2| and shifting the associ a turn buckle l5 and clevls pin 18 to the end of the other section of the rod "a. The .rod ll passes through a bushing l1 threaded into the sleeve II and the plunger 11 is positioned between a pair of helical springs 18 and I! mounted within the hollow portion of the sleeve II. the opposite ends of the springs bearing against the inner end of the hollow portion of the body II and against the bushing 11, respectively. The springs 18 and 19 are sufliciently stiff to normally transmit all movement of the lever IBM to the assoelated bell crank lever I'l while permitting lost motion and further movement of the lever 056a when the bell crank lever has reached the limit ofsits motion.

ated lever M3 to change the setting of the Although the invention has been described in ated governor itia. Obviously the initial orientation of the stub shaft 58 must be such as to produce a compensating effect, 1. e.,- lower the speed oi the engine, the tachometer shaft of which is rotating at too high 'a speed.

In the ngiement as described in Fig.1, approximate synchronism between the two engine's may be initially estcblished by adjusting one or the other of the control levers [58a or "to. 'ihereaiter the control element 20 operates automatically to shiit the lever I on governor lilato change the setting of the latter and thereby change the speed oi engine A to correct any variation in synchronisni between the two engines.

It is common in airplane practice to frequently, either unintentionally or intentionally, run one engine at a radically olificrent speed from another for a period, as when tes'ting. Therefore if special means were not provided to prevent such action, the gear segment would quickly run out of mesh with the gear 28 and the device would be inoperative. To prevent such occurrence, spring stops are provided for limiting motion of the gearsegnicnt E50. These stops comprise a pair of spring detents $0 and M, respectively, which engage the radial edges S2 and 83 oi the gear segment id just before the latter passes out of mesh with the gear 28. This does not prevent the segment from passing out of mesh with gear 28 but resiliently urges the gear segment been into mesh so that normal driving relation between gear to and the segment 59 isreestablished as soon as the direction of gear 28 is reversed. However, as long as the gear 28 rotates in a direction tending to force the segment 5i against one oi the stops it or M, the teeth of the gear merely click against the last teeth on the segment The arrangement described makes it impossible to in any way damage the automatic synchronizing equipment by independently rotating one of the engines at a diiferent speed from the others. I

if the levers who and 85th have a full range of motion sufiicient to shift the associated levers iii through their full ranges of movement when the automatic control mechanism is in neutral position, then when the latter is out of neutral position the range of motion of the associated lever who might be limited and if the operator attempted to shift it to the end of its normal I range severe strains would be imposed upon the linkage connecting it to its associated lever I. To prevent such strains, I prefer to insert'in the cable la a resilient lost motion device I0 which is illustrated in detail in Fig. 8. Thus it comprises a sleeve member it connected at one end .by a clevis pin 12 to the rod ila and adapted to receive within its hollow body a plunger I! on the end of a rod 14, which in turn is attached by detail with reference to a bi-motor airplane, the application of the essential principles of the inventionj to other multi-engine planes having any number of engines or to motor-boats d other devices containing engines tobe saw will be obvious tothose smllechinithe art and the invention is therefore to be limited only as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in a multi-englne emit, a plurality of engines each having an independent throttle for controlling the power output thereof, a variable pitch propeller for each engine,

' means for coupling each engine to its associated propeller, independent governor means for each engine for varying the pitch of the propeller associated with that engine in response to variations in speed oi the engine whereby the load on each engine is automatically varied in response to changes in the power developed by the engine, to maintain the speed of each engine within predetermined narrow limits, difierential means connected to said two engines endpoinprising a shaft rotatable in response to variations from a predetermined speed relation between said two engines, and means actuated in response to rotation of said shaft to vary the setting of one of said governors in such a direction as to restore said predetermined speed relation.

2. In a mechanism for synchronizing the speed of a controlled engine with the" speed oi a massterengine, a centrifugally actuated governor on each engine, a. difierential mechanism disposed between said engines and having its opposite sides driven by said engines, and a displaceablc menu ber operatively connected with the governor oi said controlled engine and associated with said differential mechanism to be displaced by said differential mechanism upon a variation in the speed of the controlled engine with respect to the speed of the master engine.

3. In a mechanism for synchronizing the speed of a controlled engine with that of a master ongine, a centrifugally actuated governor upon each the controlled engine governor upon a variationin the speed of the controlled engine with respect to the speed of the master engine.

4. In a mechanism for synchronizing the speed of aeontrolled engine with that of a master engine, agovernor for each engine, a manual control for each governor, means connecting each manual control with the respective governor, a differential mechanism interposed between said engines and driven thereby, and means applied to the first mentioned connecting the governor of said controlled engine with its respective manual control and actuated by said differential mechanism upon a variation in the speed of said conengine, means for manually varying the setting of the governor on said master engine, a diflerential mechanism disposed between said engines and having its opposite sides driven by said engines, and a displaceable member operatively connected with the governor of said controlled engine and associated with said differential mechanism to be displaced by said diflerential mechanism upon a variation in the speed of the controlled engine with respect to the speed of the master engine to varythe setting of the governor on the controlled engine.

ILAS A. MOREHOUSE. 

